Peas in a Pod
by baby swann
Summary: Ok, so you've heard stories about Jack swapping bodies with Will, Elizabeth swapping bodies with Ana Maria, and Jack swapping bodies with Norrington... but what about Jack swapping bodies with Elizabeth? Let the madness begin.
1. The little bottle

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. **

Hello everyone, this is my first POTC Fanfic, please be nice to it :)

It starts off pretty normal but I have an idea that it will get pretty crazy after a while, maybe a few little crossovers here and there…

My story is a JE at heart, but both the main characters fall in love and out of love with many other characters along the way that you can't really tell.

Basically this fic is just a big long rollercoaster ride, one which I'd just love you to jump on :)

I love you all,

baby swann

**Peas in a Pod **

Elizabeth Swann and William Turner broke from their long and tender kiss, both their eyes shining bright, brimming with love.

"Oh Elizabeth" Will moaned, burying his head in her shoulder, "I wish I'd done this sooner… I wish I'd told you earlier…"

"Aye" Elizabeth said, loving the sound of pirate lingo rolling off her tongue, "Me too, but it was kind of difficult when we were off fighting skeletons, rubbing shoulders with pirates and being taken advantage of by a certain Captain Jack Sparrow".

"Hmmm" was all Will replied with, raising his head and looking off to where the Black Pearl was sailing off into the distance.

"And anyway" Elizabeth continued, putting Will's feathered pirate hat back on his head and smiling coyly, "You've got the treasure now, pirate, and we have a whole lifetime ahead of us…a lifetime we can spend together"

Will smiled, and kissed Elizabeth softly on the cheek. "Yes we do" he murmured, taking her hand and leading her off the battlements.

"Wait- Will" Elizabeth said suddenly, "You can go ahead. I just want to…you know…" she said, gesturing to the fading sails of the Black Pearl.

Will looked slightly confused, but smiled all the same. "Of course, milady. I will see you back at the Governor's House" he said grandly, taking off his hat and bowing to her with a flourish. Elizabeth giggled as he walked away, and she noticed that he had begun to walk in that rolling way that was characteristic of Captain Jack Sparrow.

_Captain Jack Sparrow…_

This brought Elizabeth to the reason why she was waiting here in the first place. It was only now that Elizabeth opened her fist, daring to look at the tiny object that has slipped out of the Captain's clothes as he had stumbled off the battlement only minutes before. While everyone was busy watching Jack's clumsy fall, Elizabeth had whipped up the object and held it tightly in her fist as she waited for the crowd around her to disperse. Finally, she was alone, and opening her hand, she dared a look at the tiny object.

At first, it looked like a miniature bottle of rum. Only about five centimetres long, it was half filled with a golden mixture. Upon closer inspection, however, Elizabeth saw that it was actually oil. But it was what was bobbing on the sea of oil that really grabbed Elizabeth's attention.

For inside the bottle was a tiny model of the Black Pearl, complete with sails and cannons and all. It rolled on its tiny ocean with every slight movement of Elizabeth's hand, and for a few seconds she stared at the ship, fascinated. Then she noticed something else- crudely cut into the very glass of the bottle itself was one word. Elizabeth had missed this at first because she had been so busy staring at the ship, but when the light hit the bottle at a certain angle, the words written on it glowed with an amber light.

_Freedom. _

Elizabeth closed her eyes and smiled as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Ms Swann?" a curious voice that Elizabeth knew all too well made her slip out of her reverie. She hastily tucked the bottle into her dress.

"Ms Swann, your father has asked me to accompany you home. Mr Turner is waiting there for you" Commodore Norrington said stiffly, holding out his arm.

Elizabeth groaned inwardly, but smiled politely as she took the Commodore's arm as he led her to their waiting carriage. Now this was one ride she was not looking forward to- awkward conversation here we come!

Captain Jack Sparrow was at the helm of the Black Pearl, pure happiness etched on every line of is face. The wind, as if echoing his happiness, was filling the Pearl's sails and the sunlight was pouring down onto the boat, lighting up the sweat glistening bodies of the rest of the Black Pearl's crew.

Snapping his compass shut, Jack stuffed it back into one of the folds of pockets in his pirate attire, where he kept his most valuable "effects". Namely, his compass, pistol, shot of rum and…

Suddenly, he froze. Letting go of the wheel, the Black Pearl took a sharp turn towards starboard.

"Cap'n?" Ana Maria shouted from the crows nest, almost angrily. "This is no time to be getting drunk at the helm!"

Jack, however, merely raised his arm, looking distractedly in his clothes. The Black Pearl keeled even more starboard. Worried now, Ana Maria slid down the lookout onto the deck, and rushed to the wheel, steadying it. Jack was patting his clothes, biting his bottom lip.

"Come on…come on…where are ye?" he muttered, as if trying to coax a small animal out of its burrow.

"Jack?" asked Gibbs nervously, coming up from below deck. "What's going on?"

Suddenly Jack looked up, and realised a small crowd of his crew had come to see what was wrong with their newly reinstated captain.

"Boys" he said, with a tinge of regret in his voice, "We've got to go back to Port Royal"

This announcement was met with a calamity of noise, most audibly Ana Maria yelling "It's the gallows for you, Jack Sparrow, if you return there! Suicide! Are you insane?"

"We've got to go back!" Jack growled, and his crew stopped yelling, the anger in Jack's voice silencing them. "We've got to" he said again, more softly this time. "There's something that I've…err, forgotten, and I need to go back and collect it, savvy? Or else… that'll be the end of Jack Sparrow as you know him" Jack paused, watching the effects his words had on the crew as he took a swig of rum.

Suddenly, he realised they were all waiting expectantly for him to say more. Jack felt slightly annoyed. "So what are you waiting for? Help turn this baby around!" he shouted at them, so they quickly resumed their old posts on the ship, but Jack didn't miss the furtive glances that were exchanged between the crew members.

Gibbs, his old friend, was the last to leave. "I guess there's more to Captain Jack Sparrow than meets the eye, eh?" he said gruffly.

"Aye" said Jack, and he felt a cold wind rise to tickle the braids in his hair.

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So what do you think? Please review, the story will die without them :(


	2. Very Awkward Indeed

Hi everyone, thankyou for reviewing so much!

Just so you know, this story initially starts out with Jack and Elizabeth going on an adventure, but the way I've planned it out is that you'll get tiny crossovers from other movies/ books/ TV shows as the story goes on. Nothing major, just little things for fun. But I'll get to that later! For now… on with the show!

**Chapter 2: Very awkward indeed**

Will and Elizabeth were sitting together on the large comfortable velvet sofa in the Governor's house, drinking fine wine and relaxing after an exhausting couple of days. The Governor had since retired to bed, and Elizabeth had her head resting droopily on Will's shoulder.

"I love you Elizabeth" Will drawled contentedly. Elizabeth smiled, even though she knew he had had a little too much to drink.

"I love you too Will" she whispered softly into his ear, lightly kissing his neck.

"Mmm" Will murmured, and he was silent. All Elizabeth could hear now was the crackle of the flames in the fireplace. She wriggled on Will's shoulder, until she found a comfortable nook to rest in, and she let out a deep contented sigh.

Taking out Jack's little bottle, she played with it in her hand, watching the tiny Black Pearl bobbing on its golden ocean. To her surprise, she found herself humming a pirate song:

_Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate's life for me…_

Suddenly, a strong gust of cold wind blew through the open window, banging the shutters, making the drapes fly and extinguishing the fire in the fireplace. Elizabeth screamed, and the bottle in her hand slipped and smashed onto the cold marble floor.

And then it happened. An explosion of the most beautiful golden light Elizabeth had ever seen erupted from the bottle, and she was momentarily blinded. Will woke with a start, and fell off the sofa in his confusion. All he could remember was a great flash of light, and when he finally sat up, his beautiful Elizabeth was gone.

The Black Pearl was just docking into Port Royal when Jack suddenly felt a strong tugging in his chest. His eyes widened, as he realised what was happening.

"Gibbs! Ana Maria!" he cried, dropping to his knees. Gibbs ran across the deck at the summons of his captain, to find him clutching his chest, his eyes blazing. Ana Maria followed just behind him, but stopped when she saw Jack.

"Bloody hell Jack- what have you got yourself into this time?" she said, taking the wheel of the Black Pearl.

Jack staggered, and finally managed to stand up. Walking over to Gibbs, he put his hand on Gibb's shoulder, and Gibbs could see Jack was smiling.

"Mate…mate… never forget this, savvy?" he said, placing his other hand on Gibbs chest. "Whenever…whatever happens" Jack said, staggering slightly and moving his arms up and down in front of Gibbs, "I will always…always" he said, pushing his finger into Gibb's chest as if to make his point, "I will always be Captain Jack Sparrow".

And with that, he disappeared.

Will was just about to start shouting for the Governor when suddenly, out of nowhere, Elizabeth reappeared. She looked slightly dazed and confused, but that didn't matter to Will. He strode across the room and enfolded her in a tight hug.

"Oh Elizabeth…what happened?" he said finally, trying to stop himself from crying from relief. But suddenly, Elizabeth jerked away, looking at Will with a mixture of disgust and fear.

"What the hell do you think… Will?" she said, as if seeing him for the first time. Elizabeth looked around, taking in her surroundings. "What am I doing...?" she shook her head and looked at Will again. "Well, you do seem very pleased to see me, Mr Turner" she added, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Long time no see, eh?"

Will scratched his head, looking confused. "Um, well, you did kind of-"

Elizabeth cut him off with a wave of her hand. "So where is the lovely Miss Swann? Now there's someone I'm looking forward to meeting! It's been, what, at least four hours…" Elizabeth suddenly realised the slightly frightened looks Will was giving her.

"What? What's wrong, Turner? You seemed so happy to see me before, and now you look like you've just seen a ghost!" Elizabeth gave a harsh laugh that was a sound unlike anything Will had heard her make before. When she realised that Will didn't appreciate the joke, she turned to look at him full in the face. "You can't be that upset to see your old friend Captain Jack Sparrow, eh?"

Suddenly, Will's eyes went very wide. He strode right up to Elizabeth and shook her hard by the shoulders. "Please, please tell me you're joking… please tell me you aren't serious!" he said, his eyes searching hers.

Elizabeth looked uncomfortable, and glanced down at Will's hands on her shoulders. It was then that she noticed her hair. "What's all this?" she said, taking the locks of honey blonde hair and studying them as if they were an important scientific specimen. "Will, Will, what's happened to me? I never made a good blonde… I tried it a few years ago, stole a bottle of dye off this wench in Tortuga- what is the matter Will? Bring me a mirror!"

Hastily, Will grabbed a hand mirror off the nearest table, and gave it to Elizabeth. He quickly backed away, as if he thought the mirror was about to explode.

Elizabeth looked into the mirror, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Bloody hell! What's happened to me?" she yelped, running her free hand over her face and her hair. She looked up at Will wildly, who was furiously biting his bottom lip. He looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm…I'm Elizabeth!" she cried, her eyes flickering wildly between the image in the mirror and Will's terrified face. Finally, she managed a small smile, and glanced across at Will.

"So, Will, you don't happen to have any rum, savvy?"

Gibbs was still considering the deeper hidden meaning of what he thought were his Captain's last words when, without warning, Jack reappeared on he deck, looking oddly scared.

His eyes found Gibbs face, and his face split into a wide smile. "Gibbs! Oh I'm so glad to see you!" he said, walking over and giving Gibbs a big hug. Gibbs looked awkwardly over Jack's shoulder at the rest of the crew, who were staring at this strange spectacle.

Jack finally released Gibbs, and smiled at him happily. "Oh, I thought I'd died, but its ok, I'm on the Pearl, I'm sure Jack can take me back! Where is he, by the way?" he said, looking around him.

Ana Maria walked right up to Jack and slapped him on the face. Jack reeled back, looking confused. "What was that for?" he said, staring at Ana Maria with a shrewd expression that she had never see on his face before.

"Just wondering if you'd been doing any devilish deeds in hell, Captain" Ana Maria said, steely eyed. "Namely, drinking till you don't know who you are anymore!"

"Captain?" Jack said, looking utterly bewildered. "Um, Ana Maria, don't you recognise me? It's Elizabeth Swann! I dropped this bottle thing of Jack's and now I've been transported here, and I was wondering if you could give me passage home…" Jack suddenly realised everyone was looking at him suspiciously; clearly this wasn't his usual drunk behaviour. "Um, can somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Gibbs stepped forward. "Jack… or Elizabeth… I think you'd better sit down. There's something you need to know".

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Ooh! What happens next? Keep reading (and reviewing) to find out!


	3. Governors, Witches and Rum

**Disclaimer: No I don't own POTC. **

Hello again, many kisses to all you wonderful reviewers- you really made my day!

Anyway, here's just something I want to make clear about this chapter which might be a bit confusing: In the last chapter, in which Jack and Elizabeth swapped bodies, I wrote it from the point of view of outsiders (i.e. Will and Gibbs/ Ana Maria), so, for example, even though it was really Jack's soul in Elizabeth's body, the story was written as if it was Elizabeth standing there. Does that make sense?

So in this chapter and all chapters from here onwards, the story will be written from Jack/ Elizabeth's _soul's_ respective points of view. So it will be written, for example, "Jack did such and such" even though it really is Elizabeth's body doing those things. I hope this becomes clearer as the story unfolds, any comments or anything I would love to hear in the form of reviews! Right, so here's chapter 3…

**Chapter 3: Governors, Witches and Rum**

Jack sat down on the chair at the Governor's house, and took another swig of the Governor's best rum. He then looked across at Will, who still seemed as if he would burst into tears in any minute.

"So, Mr Turner, what do you reckon we should do?" he said, noticing his high, feminine voice, and as he glanced down at his body he smiled at the womanly curves he now possessed. This must have been the strangest thing that had happened to him in all his years as a pirate- no wonder Will looked terrified.

"Um… I really don't know, Elizab- I mean, Jack" Will shook his head, and Jack laughed.

"This is going to take a bit of getting used to, I reckon, so you'd better get up to date with the facts sharpish, savvy?" Jack said. "A long time ago, when I was but a young seadog, before I'd even heard of the Black Pearl, I got into a spot of trouble with a witch. Don't laugh, Mr Turner, they exist, and they're dangerous to boot. Aye, they are…" Jack said, looking almost wistfully into the distance. "Anyway, she stole a part of my soul, and hid it in a bottle. I managed to get the bottle back, but I still don't know how to get it to go back into my body. So I've been carrying it with me all my life. When I became the Captain of the Black Pearl, a little ship appeared in the bottle- possibly because I gave some of my soul to the Pearl, or the Pearl became a part of me… I don't know. After I saw the Pearl bobbing around inside with my soul, I decided to inscribe the word "Freedom" on it- ironic, eh? It was my private little joke" Jack stopped talking and looked across at Will, who was still processing that it was _Jack _inside Elizabeth's body. He suppressed a little chuckle.

"So, I've carried my soul in a bottle all my life. Until, that is, your lovely lady whose body I now possess managed to come across it, and she somehow broke it. I never had any idea, savvy, that this whole…body swap thing" Jack looked his body up and down, smiling slightly, "would be a side effect of it".

"So how can you undo it?" said Will, looking desperately at Jack.

He raised a coy eyebrow. "What, don't you like me like this, Will?"

"Jack!" Will said, sounding exasperated. "I'm serious!"

"So am I, Will, so am I" Jack said gravely. "There's no real knowing whether I'm ever going to get out of this pickle… I might be stuck in Elizabeth Swann's body forever!"

"But you're… you're Captain Jack Sparrow!" Will said, as if he was trying to convince Jack as much as himself.

"Aye, I am" Jack said, "But first I need to find-"

Suddenly, Elizabeth (in Captain Jack's body) burst through the door.

"Will! Oh Will, you won't believe…" suddenly Elizabeth saw her body standing beside Will, and she clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Who are you?" she whispered, staring at the woman in front of her. Jack gave a mocking bow.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow" he said. "And you, lovey, must be the darling Elizabeth Swann"

Elizabeth's eyes swivelled wildly between Jack and Will. "Yes…I guess I am. But Jack, how did this happen? I was just playing with this little bottle and then suddenly I broke it and… is that _rum_ in my hand?" suddenly her eyes blazed, and she snatched the rum out of Jack's hand and threw it into the fire. "Look, while you're in my body, for however long this is going to be, I will not have you abusing it! That means no rum, no overeating, and please…shower! Jack, your body smells!"

"Aye, but I smell of rum, hard work and the ocean. You, love, smell of strange exotically fake perfumes… but you must admit, my body is quite the looker, eh?"

Elizabeth, looking furious, walked right up to Jack and slapped him on the face. Jack reeled back, but it was only then that Elizabeth realised it was _herself_ that she was harming. A look of shock passed over her face, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Jack, I'm so sorry- it's just…this whole thing is just so confusing" she said, throwing her hands around Jack. Jack put his arms around Elizabeth awkwardly. "Please don't, love. Pirates don't cry" he murmured. Will, from the side of the room, looked even more awkward.

Suddenly, Jack snapped his head up. "What's that? I hear something…"

Elizabeth put her hand over her mouth. "It's my father!" she looked across at Jack. "Hide!"

Jack smiled at Elizabeth oddly. "Actually I think it's you, love, who needs to hide. I don't think the Governor would take too kindly to seeing the pirate who he tried to hang today lounging around in his house"

Elizabeth's eyes widened in understanding, and she had just enough time to run into a small antechamber when the Governor burst through the main doors, wearing no wig and a blue dressing gown.

"What's all this?" he said, looking from Jack to Will. Jack quickly took Will's hand, and Will squirmed uneasily.

"I'm sorry father" Jack said, smiling sweetly, "Me and Will were just dozing on the sofa when this big gust of wind blew through the window and gave us a fright. That's all… nothing to worry about, savvy?"

The Governor blinked. "Savvy?" he said, suspiciously.

Will gave Jack's hand an urgent squeeze. "Um, yeah, just some pirate lingo I picked up while on the Black Pearl…" Jack finished lamely, cursing himself for being so stupid. Luckily, Will took over.

"With all due respect, Governor, Elizabeth has had a hard couple of days at sea, and she is entitled to be a little bit confused. If you please, I will make Elizabeth something to drink, and then set her off to bed. It is getting a little late for me too, I should be getting back to the smithy" Will interjected smoothly, and Jack couldn't help admiring Will's newfound ease at lying.

The Governor, too, seemed duly impressed. "Yes, yes of course" he said quickly. He turned to go, but looked back over his shoulder at the last minute. "I always knew you were a good boy, Mr Turner. Really I did". And with that, the Governor climbed back up the stairs to his bed chamber.

Jack let out a sign of relief, and Will quickly let go of Jack's hand. Jack smiled. "Not too keen to get close to your darling Elizabeth now, eh?"

Will glared at Jack, about to say something quite rude when Elizabeth burst forth from the antechamber. "That was way too close for comfort" she said. "Jack, we have to get out of here! I can't stand this… sooner or later people will find out about us and that will be the end!"

Jack looked thoughtfully at Elizabeth. "Aye…" he said softly, walking up to the open window. Suddenly, he spun around.

"By any chance, is the Pearl docked up around these parts?"

"Yes, it's right down there on the jetty- your whole crew is waiting there" Elizabeth said, gesturing out the window.

"Hmmm" said Jack slowly, pacing the room. "Well, the way I see it, there might be one way to redeem this seemingly hopeless situation, but we would have to set off ASAP"

"ASAP?" said Elizabeth, looking confused. Then her eyes cleared "Oh right, As Soon As Possible!"

Will, however, was looking at Jack seriously. "You're going to go find the witch, aren't you?"

"Aye" said Jack. He held out his hand to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, I swear, I will try my hardest to get everything back to normal. But you must be willing to come with me"

"Yes of course!" said Elizabeth impatiently. "Quick, let's go!"

"I'm coming too!" said Will. Both Jack and Elizabeth turned around, and they simultaneously shook their heads.

"What? Why?" cried Will incredulously.

Jack walked over to Will, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Will, Will. This doesn't concern you at all, it would be dangerous and pointless taking you along. Imagine if you got involved with it, and the body swap went three ways…" Jack shuddered at the thought.

Elizabeth spoke up next. "Will, it will only be a short trip, and the next thing you know I'll be back home in my own body and we can get married! And anyway, I've got the crew of the Black Pearl to protect me. I'll be fine" she murmured, raising her hand to brush Will's face. Thinking better of it, however, she stopped, blushed, and stuck her hand out. Will took it tentatively, and they shook hands.

Jack turned back from where he was standing by the window, and blew Will a kiss. Now it was Will's turn to blush, being a woman came so _naturally_ to Jack it was quite disturbing.

Finally, Jack looked up at Elizabeth. "Ready to hit the high seas, love?"

"Aye, Captain" said Elizabeth, taking off her hat and bowing with a flourish.

Will saw the two of them laughing together, and something wrenched inside him. Somehow, he had a feeling this "short trip" was going to turn into something much more. At a loss for what to say, he cried desperately, "What do I tell the Governor?"

Jack waved a hand dismissively from halfway out the window. "Use your brain, Turner…make something up!"

And with that, they were gone.

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You likey? Please review! xoxo baby swann


	4. Icebergs ahead

Hello again, you all asked for an update, and now you're getting one! Yay! Thanks again for all the excellent reviewers; it's you guys who inspire me to keep churning out chapter after chapter. I'm glad you like the story- I like it too!

baby swann

**Chapter 4: Icebergs ahead **

Jack and Elizabeth ran across the vast lawns of the Governor's house, through the dark streets of Port Royal and out onto the dock where the Black Pearl was silently waiting.

"How do you run like this, love?" Jack panted. "Curse this damn body!"

"Jack" Elizabeth said warningly, running her hand through her dark braided hair. Yet she couldn't help smiling. She had a feeling that she had gotten the better end of this bargain- Jack's body was incredibly fit, even though he did have a quite odd running style that involved flailing his arms all over the place and tottering around. Elizabeth was just about to mention this to him, however, Ana Maria leant over the side of the Pearl and saluted Elizabeth.

"The Captain's back!" she cried, and the rest of the crew ran to the side of the deck as Jack and Elizabeth boarded the Pearl.

Elizabeth felt slightly uneasy as a few of the pirates started saluting her, but was relieved of the need to tell them when Jack bellowed from behind her, "Now, excuse me, but I'm the Captain here, savvy?" Elizabeth winced to hear her voice being used in such a manner.

"Ms Swann?" one of the crew members said incredulously.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if ye please" Jack corrected.

"How do we know that though, _Captain?_" someone else said, and Jack rounded on them, looking for all the world like he was about to push the offender off the Pearl.

Ana Maria smoothly stepped in. "Jack, Jack, just listen. We all know Elizabeth is inside your body, she enlightened us on the boat. But we're but humble pirates, savvy, and we've been tricked and used so many times you can't blame us for being suspicious. I know you're Jack, you've got that look in your eye… but for the rest of them… why don't you tell us something only you and us would know?"

"Like what?" said Jack, scratching his head. Elizabeth winced at the way he was standing- legs apart, leaning back against the railing, in the most unladylike position.

Gibbs interjected. "Captain- tell us ye middle name! We all know that, but I know you made us swear it to secrecy, so unless one of these mangy dogs blabbed" he said, glaring around threateningly and making a cutting gesture at his throat, "That would be the perfect thing".

Jack tossed his head and grinned, flashing white teeth. Elizabeth could see the faintest hint of a blush in his rosy cheeks. "Aye, I'll do that Gibbs. Me middle name…me middle name is Bartholomew. Ok, laugh away, Ms Swann. My full name is Captain Jack Bartholomew Sparrow" he said proudly, looking triumphantly at the crew.

Suddenly, everyone started roaring with laughter, and coming up to Jack and patting him on the back. All except Elizabeth, that is, who was looking a little lost for words.

"So" Jack continued, "Now that I've reasserted my position, I'd like to get this stinking dress off me. Ana Maria, if I could…?"

"Aye… Captain" Ana Maria said, looking slightly bemused. Elizabeth laughed.

"As for the rest of you, get to work turning the Pearl around and into Open Ocean… we've got a new item on our agenda"

"Does it involve pillage and plunder?" Gibbs asked hopefully.

Jack considered this for a moment, and then nodded cheerfully. "Aye" he said, before disappearing below deck with Ana Maria.

"Um" said Gibbs hesitantly, "Ms Swann?" He was addressing the floor in front of Elizabeth, not actually looking at her.

"Yes Gibbs?" Elizabeth said, turning to him. She noticed a few of the pirates were staring at her. Gibbs looked at Elizabeth in the face, shook his head, evidently too disturbed at the sight of his captain's body being inhabited by a woman to continue, and resumed to talk to the deck. "Would you like anything to eat or drink?"

Elizabeth smiled. "No thank you Mister Gibbs, I'm of a rather elegant sufficiency at the moment"

Gibbs' eyes nearly bulged out of his head. A few of the other pirates laughed nervously.

Elizabeth looked puzzled. "What did I say?"

Gibb's made a poor attempt at a smile. "It's just… well, Ms Swann, we've never ever actually heard our captain speak like that before… what with all those big words and all…"

Elizabeth threw her head back and let out a Jack-like laugh. "Oh Mister Gibbs! This is something that you will have to get used to before long, there's no knowing how long me and Jack will be like this for"

Gibbs looked like he was about to faint. He staggered away, the thoughts of being ordered around by a woman for the rest of his life filling his head.

Elizabeth turned back to the railing of the Pearl, which was making its way away from Port Royal… and her darling Will. She gazed up at the star speckled sky, and the beautiful full moon that was shining a silvery light onto the deck. Then she shuddered, remembering what happened the last time she saw the full moon from this ship. Visions of the un-dead, rum pouring down over someone's ribs and a skeleton monkey filled her head. Elizabeth shook her head, trying to clear away the thoughts. The Black Pearl had changed since then- the pirates were her friends, Will's friends… she was going to be fine.

"Elizabeth?" Elizabeth heard a female voice behind her and she spun around, to see herself- well, Jack, she chided herself- standing behind her, dressed smartly in pirate attire. Loose dark pants and a white fitted top were covered by a navy coat adorned with gold buttons.

"You look quite nice" she said simply.

"Aye…" said Jack, clearly he was about to say something that he didn't really want to. He leant against the railing next to her, and took a deep breath of the balmy night air. He suddenly glanced at Elizabeth, then quickly looked down at the ground, and then he fiddled with the buttons on his coat, avoiding Elizabeth's puzzled gaze.

"What is it Jack, spit it out!" she said, finally impatient.

"Well, love, it's about this… body" Jack began, still resolutely avoiding Elizabeth's eyes. "You know I had to kind of, well, change, to get into these pirate clothes" He glanced up Elizabeth, and seeing the comprehension dawning in her eyes, he rushed on "I tried not to look, honest, you know me, I'm a decent man, but well… I couldn't really help sneaking a peek at…well, you know, love, I'm a man after all" he said, raising his eyebrows significantly.

"Oh" Elizabeth said. And "oh" was what she meant. She hadn't really thought about complications such as these, but now she realised how stupid she had been not to consider them. She felt a blush rising in her cheeks- the fact that a man had seen her body unclothed and that man wasn't Will make Elizabeth feel quite uncomfortable indeed. Especially since this man was the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but then another thought dawned on her which made her think again. If this was an issue for her now, it would surely be an issue for Jack when she, Elizabeth, had to get changed as well. It wasn't a purely one sided thing, and that somehow comforted Elizabeth.

"No, no, I guess that's ok…but, well, do _you_ mind? When I have to…" Elizabeth said, gesturing to her clothes, and Jack seemed to understand what she meant. He grinned roguishly at her.

"Consider yourself one of the lucky few, love" he said conceitedly, and Elizabeth resisted the urge to push him over the edge. The fact that these words were coming from her own mouth made it even worse.

"Captain?" Both Elizabeth and Jack turned around to see Ana Maria coming up behind them. "Would you like to take the wheel?"

"Aye" said Jack, and he smiled kindly at Elizabeth. "You need to get your beauty sleep, love" he said. "That body ain't all it used to be" he said, winking at her, before striding up to the wheel and stroking it tenderly.

Elizabeth shook her head, suppressing a smile, and followed Ana Maria below deck.

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Yes lovelies, that was it! Please, please review! I just realised this thing on my stats page called hits, its how many people read the story… anyway, what would be excellent (I know this is basically impossible) but a review for every hit that comes to this page? Yep, I know, mission impossible, but still… no harm in trying, eh?

I love you all,

baby swann


	5. Reflections on the Pearl

**Disclaimer: I do not own POTC, however much I wish I did. So there. **

Howdy all! I'm back with another chapter- thankyou so much, again, for all your wonderful reviews! Anyway, personally, I felt this chapter was a bit of a filler chapter, sort of a place where the characters could mull over in their minds the events that had occurred during the day and accept the reality of them. So for me, it's not really my best, but all the JE fans out there will probably like the ending :) But I don't want to spoil it… so on with:

**Chapter 5: Reflections on the Pearl**

Elizabeth crawled into the hammock in the cabin she was shown to by Ana Maria, who had kept on shooting her odd disbelieving glances as the walked down the corridor. Elizabeth sighed, she knew that she would have to get used to people staring at her and whispering about her. Dismissing Ana Maria in a way that was probably interpreted to be quite rude, Elizabeth crawled into the hammock fully clothed.

Soothed by the gentle rocking of the Pearl, Elizabeth finally set free the tide of thoughts that had been building up at the back of her mind. She marvelled at the brilliance of the human brain- when confronted with an impossible situation, her brain stored it in the back of her mind, seemingly accepting it, and tried to get on with life as per usual. It was finally now, with nobody around her, that she could mull over the events of the past few hours.

Ok, number one: She was in Jack Sparrow's body. Running her hands quickly over her face, hair, and chest, Elizabeth forced her mind to accept this fact. She didn't know how long she would be like this, but it wouldn't help if she was in constant denial. What she and Jack had faced up on deck was probably going to be one of many difficulties that they would have to face; Elizabeth guessed she would just have to learn to trust Jack. She admitted this would be quite hard considering Jack was the very same pirate who had ruthlessly manipulated and used her, Will, and even that dastardly Captain Barbossa to serve his own purposes. Who was to know whether Jack would take advantage of Elizabeth's body?

Elizabeth turned over in the hammock, trying to clear that awful image from her head. They were setting sail for Tortuga tomorrow; Elizabeth smiled grimly realising that if any shifty deeds were to occur, they would occur in Tortuga. This would be the ultimate test of Jack's trust and respect for her. Elizabeth prayed that he would pass it.

That led Elizabeth to the next issue she had been refusing to confront- romantic attractions. She knew that in her heart, Will would always be dearest to her, yet the fact that she was a woman living in a man's body would make things slightly difficult during their journey. What would happen if woman made advances on her? How was she to react? Would she have to _act_ like Captain Jack Sparrow in front of other people, would she have to use all his mannerisms and speak like him too? How would she be able to fool all the people who knew Jack best? What if Jack had a girlfriend she didn't know about? What if...?

Elizabeth shook her head; her brain was going into overdrive. _One at a time_ she reminded herself, trying to keep calm. _One at a time... _

Suddenly Elizabeth felt really tired. It was as if the weight of all the day's excitement had come crashing down around her- she couldn't take it anymore. Letting out a deep sigh, Elizabeth curled up and fell asleep, rocking to the motion of the ocean.

Jack, up at the helm of the Black Pearl, was having the same thoughts running through his head. Yet the issues that he had with this body swap were quite different to Elizabeth's, as we are soon to find out.

Jack's first issue, of course, was what he liked to call "womanly problems". He had heard all about these things from Ana Maria, but to him it seemed the less he knew the better. Now, however, when confronted with these issues head on, Jack supposed he would just have to tackle them. PMS, pregnancy, a certain time of the month… yep, this would definitely be the most difficult prison the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow would have wriggle his way out of.

Jack's second issue was how all his other, err, acquaintances, would accept the fact that he had swapped bodies with a woman. He was considering not telling anyone else at all, but that meant training Elizabeth on how to be a convincing pirate- even more than that, she had to get the character and mannerisms of Jack Sparrow just right, or else suspicions would be aroused and rumours would spread like wildfire.

And…yep, that was about it. Jack looked down at his compass to see that he was steering in the right direction, and apparently satisfied, he snapped the compass shut and put it away. Jack prided himself on not getting too worried or stressed about anything- it was one of the qualities that made him such a good pirate. By not letting himself get too bogged down with worries, he could see many situations in a clearer light than most other men. It was this carefree nature that had got him to be the Captain of the Black Pearl- and had got Barbossa rotting in hell.

Yet there was one, small thing that had been niggling at the back of Jack's mind, that had been refusing to be thrown into the scrap heap along with many other of Jack's worries. It was the issue of a certain romantic attraction that he felt would be forming very soon.

Jack knew Elizabeth was an extraordinary woman- pretty, not overly beautiful, but with such a fire inside her, such a glow, that she outshone many other prettier women around her for miles. Jack also realised- without meaning to sound conceited- that he was an extremely good looking man, especially considering his age. Of course, he already knew that he had a certain charm, an allure, but he never noticed it more than now when he was looking at himself from the outside. The fact that he was inside a beautiful young woman's body and that the spirit of that same young woman was residing inside his own body was a remarkable concept, one that Jack was fascinated by.

It was then that Jack realised something, as he gazed up into the star speckled Caribbean skies. He knew it as surely as he knew the Black Pearl, the ocean, and the Pirate's Code…he knew that by the time this trip was through, he would have kissed Elizabeth Swann.

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Reviews, reflections, requests… all are welcome here, you guys were excellent last time, please don't be afraid to speak your mind!

baby swann


	6. Being Jack

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, but the new movie comes out in less that two weeks! Joyous occasion! **

Yep, that's right; I'm back with another new chapter! Well my school holidays are coming up soon so I'll be churning out chapters faster than ever, but in the meantime, read, review and enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Being Jack**

Elizabeth woke up early the next morning, rolling over in her hammock and toppling out onto the floor.

_Great. _It was only when Elizabeth stood up, however, that the reality of the last nights events fully dawned on her.

_Great. _Elizabeth walked over to the small cupboard in the corner of the cabin, and pulled out the cleanest white shirt she could find in there. For some reason, she will still quite shy about getting completely changed in this new body; even the knowledge that Jack had done it already did nothing to console her. Whipping her dirty shirt off and putting the clean one on as quickly as possible, Elizabeth avoided looking at the mirror hanging on the inside of the cupboard. She then cautiously opened the door to the cabin, and making her way down the dusty corridors and up the galley steps, she crept onto the deck of the Pearl.

She was greeted by the blazing of the early morning sun as it peeked over the horizon- its warm golden glow bathed Elizabeth as she took a deep breath and stretched. She felt the sea breeze infusing her with energy, and for an instant she envied Jack's carefree life as a pirate.

_Speak of the devil…_

"Lizabeth, love, how did you sleep?"

Elizabeth whipped around to see herself- well, Jack, at the helm of the Pearl, his face lit up in the glow of the sun. He smiled gently at her, and Elizabeth truly appreciated for the first time how attractive she was. Blushing at her conceit, she tried to return a friendly smile back to Jack.

"Oh, it was very nice thankyou" she said, walking over to stand behind Jack. She realised that his body was emitting a pleasant aroma of salt and timber, and she decided that when she got her body back, she would try and find a perfume just like that. "I love the swaying of the ship as I go to sleep"

"It's a good thing you have a seafaring stomach" Jack muttered, half to himself. "See, you love the sea, and luckily my body loves it too. I was a bit worried your body wouldn't be able to handle life on the Pearl" at this, he threw Elizabeth a sideways glance, "But I was pleasantly surprised".

Elizabeth smiled wistfully, and a memory of a voice floated into the forefront of her mind.

"Peas in a pod, love" she said, the déjà vu flooded over her as she heard herself say those words, in Jack's exact voice.

Jack smiled brilliantly, tilting back his head and laughing. "Aye, love, you'll make a good pirate yet… and you'll need to learn sharpish".

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we'll get into Tortuga tonight, if the weather stays on our side" Jack said.

"How long will we be staying there?"

"Oh, five days or thereabouts, just enough time to give the crew a few well deserved pleasures…"

Elizabeth looked scandalised, and Jack, obviously enjoying himself, ploughed on. "Drinks and women, savvy?" he said, grinning roguishly.

Elizabeth shook her head, forcing the blush from her cheeks. "So, what does all of this have to do with me?"

For the first time, Jack turned and looked at Elizabeth fully. He was wearing an odd expression on his face.

"Tell me, love, how would you rate yourself as an actress?"

After the crew had woken up and breakfasted, Elizabeth found herself in Jack's company yet again. She had been wandering around on the deck when Mr Cotton had tapped her on a shoulder, and his parrot had given her the message that the Captain wanted her in his quarters. Slightly bemused, Elizabeth had complied.

"Welcome back, Ms Swann" Jack said as she entered.

"What do you want Jack?" Elizabeth said tiredly.

"Don't you remember, acting lessons! You'll need to be convincing the whole of Tortuga that you're me, and believe me, love, a lifetime of greatness takes quite a while to learn" he said arrogantly.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but stopped suddenly as a thought struck her. "Hey Jack, I've just been thinking…"

"Elizabeth, it's a miracle!" Jack quipped.

"Shut up, I'm being serious" Elizabeth said, annoyed. "Anyway… I know this sounds sort of weird, but I've been wondering how you can still call me 'love', and all that, when I look just like you! I mean, doesn't it put you off a bit?"

For the first time, Jack looked genuinely puzzled. "You know, I don't really know either" he said slowly. "I guess that even though you're in my body, it's still you I see I there, savvy? Like, I know you have my face and clothes and fetish for rum" he ignored Elizabeth's glares, knowing full well he was right, "But you don't have the way of a pirate, or the talk, or the manners…"

"Pirates don't have manners" Elizabeth interjected.

Jack ignored her. "So, what I'm trying to say is…well, I guess you are really still Elizabeth on the inside, and that's what I see when I look at you" he said simply.

Elizabeth was smiling at Jack appreciatively. "That was pretty deep, for a pirate" she said playfully.

"Aye" said Jack, smiling softly. He then grew serious again. "But that'll have to change from now on, coz I'm on a mission to turn you into a true pirate, savvy? You're going to walk like a pirate, talk like a pirate, and spit like a pirate by the time I'm through with you. So let's get cracking!"

By the time the sun had set over the Caribbean that evening, Elizabeth was exhausted. She had been treated to "The Complete History of the Greatest Person on Earth, Captain Jack Sparrow", had been quizzed on the Captain's favourite foods, clothes, fighting styles, and (Elizabeth blushed to remember) sexual preferences; she had learned to walk like Jack, talk like Jack, fight like Jack and turn on the charm like Jack knew how to do so well.

Finally, it seemed, he was pleased with her.

"Ok, that's quite enough for today" Jack said cheerfully, putting down his sword. Elizabeth obligingly put down hers. "You're doing quite well… you'll never be as good as the original, of course, but you make quite a splendid impostor".

"Aye, you're too kind Captain" Elizabeth said, swaggering over to the table and taking a swig of rum, ignoring the way it burned her throat and slithered down into her stomach. Jack positively beamed with pride.

"So, are you ready for Tortuga, love?" Jack said, putting back on his fitted coat with the gold buttons.

"I…I think so" Elizabeth said, faltering slightly. Jack frowned.

"No, no love, that's not what you say" he corrected her. "Captain Jack Sparrow would say 'Aye, I'm ready for Tortuga, but the question is, is Tortuga ready for Captain Jack Sparrow?'"

Elizabeth nodded.

"This would generally be followed with another swig of rum" Jack prompted, and Elizabeth obediently took another sip of rum.

Then they stood in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Ana Maria's voice.

"Land ahoy, Captain…we've reached Tortuga!"

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What surprises lie in store for our hero and heroine in Tortuga? Read on to find out! (And reviews will always, always be appreciated as well!)


	7. The first test

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Pirates of the Caribbean. **

Hello, I am so excited about POTC 2 coming out that I wrote three chapters all in one day! So that means speedy updates and lots of Peas in a Pod! Anyway, thankyou so much for all your wonderful reviews, they really made my week; however, I do have a few comments to make in reference to the reviews:

Ok firstly, a few people wanted to know if the story does turn out to be a JE. I stand by what I said right at the beginning of the story, this is a JE adventure, so of course there will be some JE, but I'm planning for a lot to happen in this story: never fear Will _does_ play quite a big part further on, there will be new characters introduced, some of them ones I've made up and others that you know from other places, and I to tell you the truth I actually have no idea how the story will end, so we'll just have to wait and see where it flows!

Phew, next point: Someone suggested that I make my chapters longer, which is fine, coz I'm all up for suggestions! I'm sorry but I wrote this chapter before I got that review, so this one will still be the same size as all the other ones, but I promise next time I update I'll do a bumper chapter just for you guys:)

So, now all that's over with… on with the story!

**Chapter 7: The first test**

There was an unmistakable air of excitement as the crew of the Black Pearl clambered on deck to view the land of pleasures that was Tortuga. Many of the pirate's eyes were glowing bright, and even Ana Maria was looking at the brightly lit town with interest.

"Alright you mangy dogs!" Jack said, after steering the Pearl into port and clambering down to join the crew, "We're going to be here for about four or five days, just for a little… holiday" The pirates chuckled appreciatively. "You'll know when we're about to leave, I'll fire off a cannon signalling that the Pearl is setting sail in an hour. Remember the code: whoever falls behind, stays behind" Jack looked at everyone seriously for a moment- he was dressed splendidly in a red, white and gold army uniform that Elizabeth was sure he had stolen from Port Royal- then he burst into a roughish grin. "So what are you waiting for? Bleed Tortuga dry, mateys!"

"Aye!" the pirates roared, and then they were off, leaping down from the Pearl and mingling with the thousands of others who were all set to have a good time in Tortuga.

Elizabeth hung back for a minute, and Jack, who was just leaving the boat, looked back at her confused.

"What's the matter love? Don't you think you're ready?"

Elizabeth shook her head, and forced a smile on. "What are you talking about, Captain? I'm out to bleed Tortuga dry!"

Jack smiled. "That's the spirit, love. Just remember the lessons!" he said, before disappearing off into the crowd.

Elizabeth flashed a grin at him, but the minute he was gone, she kneaded her forehead with her hand. What on earth had she got herself into?

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Jack flounced through the crowd, looking very saucy indeed. He enjoyed the attention of quite a few male pirates, and winked and pouted at them coyly as he had seen many a woman do at Tortuga over the years.

Seeing a barrel of rum in the street (as is common in Tortuga), Jack got out his sword and slashed a hole in the barrel, holding his flask out to catch some of the golden liquid. When the flask was so full it was overflowing, Jack tilted is head back and took a big, long swig of rum. A few of the people walking past him stopped and stared.

"You drink like a man!" one man exclaimed. Jack took a breath and looked at the man- he was quite good looking, exceedingly arrogant, and had two women hanging off him, eyeing each other off jealously. Jack decided to have a bit of fun.

"Aye" said Jack, standing up. Running his fingers through his hair, he winked playfully at the man. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all" the man said genially. "I'm very impressed. You're almost as good as me"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?" he said. "Care for a contest?"

All of a sudden, the man flashed a grin reminiscent of Jack Sparrow's own one. "You really think you can take on a man?"

Jack smiled. "Of course I can" And in his heart, he knew he could. He had been drinking rum basically since he could walk, and he knew he could stomach an oceanful of the stuff if he ever got the chance.

A small crowd of people had appeared around Jack, looking interested at the scene unfolding before them. The arrogant man threw off the two women who had been clinging on to him, and swaggered forward, revealing his own flask full of rum.

"The first one to throw up loses, savvy?" Jack said.

The man laughed. "What about stakes?" he said, but then he stopped, and mockingly covered his mouth with his hand. "But that's right, little girls don't bet, do they?"

Jack ground his teeth, his fingers itching for his sword. "Ok fine, stakes. What do you call?"

"If I win" he man said, savouring the moment, "You will be mine for the night". The crowd around him roared. Jack looked disgusted, and spat at the ground.

"And if you win…"

"And if I win" Jack said viciously, disliking the man more and more, "You will keep on drinking until you pass out, and I will tie you up in chains and throw you off the edge of the dock."

The crowd laughed, but the man was looking at Jack seriously. "You mean that, don't you?" he said, slightly incredulously. Suddenly he noticed the crowd around him going silent, and keen to be the constant performer, he said quickly, "Well, no matter, I'll win anyway… and to tell you the truth, I like them feisty" he said, winking at the crowd. The atmosphere returned to light-heartedness instantly.

Jack nodded, hatred welling up inside him. "So are you ready?" he said quietly.

"Ready as ever" the man said. The crowd grew expectantly silent.

"One… two…three…go!" Jack cried, and flung the warm liquid down his throat.

The crowd burst into applause, cheering and shouting loudly. Jack could tell that he was winning easily- he was taking even, measured gulps of rum, whereas the other man was taking huge gulps, finishing his flask quickly and refilling it again, as if to show that he was drinking more by far. However, Jack knew that the challenge was not who could drink the most, it was who could drink the most _without throwing up. _And it seemed that the other man was just about to drink himself to his death- Jack saw out of the corner of his eye that the other man's face was going really red and he was more often than not choking on his rum.

And suddenly, it happened. Jack felt his insides seize up, refusing to swallow any more of the liquid that he was pouring down his throat. He felt the reflux action rising, and he fought it as best he could. Jack was bewildered; he had never had this happen to him before, in his entire life! He was Captain Jack Sparrow! He had been known to drink a whole barrel of rum in under an hour, and then go out and plunder an entire village! What was wrong with him?

And just as suddenly as the convulsions had come, Jack knew the answer. _Elizabeth. _It was this damn womanly constitution- obviously, the woman's body handled drink much more poorly than the man's body. Jack cursed silently as his head began to spin and he flung down his bottle. The other man, too, looked like he was just about to pass out. _Just a few more minutes_ Jack willed his body furiously. But it was just too much- as a wave of nausea overcame him, Jack fell to his knees, and vomited heartily all over the ground.

The crowd roared, as the other man, who had just been keeping himself together, threw up as well. Flinging his damp hair back, the man held up his arms in victory, and the crowd appraised him as Tortuga's rum drinking champion.

The man looked down at Jack, curled up miserably on the ground. "Well I must say, love" he panted, grinning, "You did put up a good show- I would say a few more minutes, and you would have had me! But, love, seriously, what were you thinking, challenging a man to a drink-off? Everyone knows that the woman's constitution can't handle all that drink! You'd be more wasted than Jack Sparrow!" The crowd laughed raucously as the man did a very good impression of the Captain, swaying around with his arms flailing around. Jack clenched his fist tightly, fighting another wave of nausea.

The man held out his hand to help Jack up. "Now come on, love, it's time to get you a room where you can have a nice long rest- you'll need to be wide awake for tonight!" Another one of those infuriating winks, as the man bent down to try and pick Jack up.

Jack curled up even tighter, hating this feeling of helplessness. If he was in his normal body, he would have got up and knocked this arrogant jerk's block off- in fact, Jack realised suddenly, if he had been in his normal body, he would never even be in this situation! Jack found himself hating Elizabeth for degrading him like this. At least, he thought ruefully, nobody knew who he really was…

"Hey!" a voice came through the crowd, and Jack looked up hopefully. Seeing who it was, his heart leapt with joy. It was Gibbs.

"What's going on here…?" Gibbs said, as his eyes widened when he saw the scene in front of him. He turned to the man accusingly. "What are you doing with this woman?" he asked softly.

"I won her" he man said loudly, so everyone could hear. "I won her in this drinking contest- ask anyone here, they heard the challenge!"

"Well" said Gibbs evenly, taking Jack firmly by the arm, "She's with me, so I suggest you back off"

"Hey, wait, that's not fair!" the man said, getting quite angry now. Jack could see the crowd were getting quite worked up now, and he knew a fight was about break out. He decided to end things quickly.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, looking at something beyond the man's shoulder. "Is that…oh no…" Jack pointed a quivering finger, as the man quickly whipped his head around to see what was frightening his prize so much.

That was all Jack needed. Raising his leg, he drove his knee into the man's crotch. The man yelped, doubling over, and Jack and Gibbs were sprinting away, losing themselves in the crowd of confused people who still didn't really understand what had just happened.

"Gibbs" Jack panted, as he fought the urge to throw up while he ran, "When we get out of here, remind me to find a religion to believe in, savvy? Because I swear there is someone watching over me".

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Aww poor Jack! Luckily he managed to wriggle his way out of that pickle! Next time on Peas in a Pod, we have a bumper chapter in which NEW characters are introduced (minor, of course), Elizabeth plays nurse, and we find out what's going on with Gibbs and Ana Maria! Please, please review!

xoxo baby swann


	8. Superchapter: Sharks and Teeth

**Disclaimer: I don't own POTC. **

Well here I am with my bumper, super chapter! Thankyou (again) to all you amazing reviewers, honestly without you this story would be dead! So anyway, in this chappie a few new characters are introduced, but as I said before they only play a minor role in the story. There is also an added complication for Jack and Elizabeth… but you'll have to read on and see what that is! So here we go, with the super-chapter:

**Super-chapter 8: Sharks and Teeth**

Elizabeth was lying on her hammock in the Pearl, staring moodily out the porthole at the lights of Tortuga. She had decided not to leave the ship, doubting that both her disguise and her acting skills would hold out in the dangerous world outside. After deciding to wait until everyone had passed out before venturing off the Pearl, she had retired to her cabin, trying to sleep. Yet sleep had not come, and Elizabeth had finally given up. She resorted to staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the incessant cravings for rum she was experiencing in her stomach.

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise on the deck above her. She sat bolt upright and climbed out of her hammock, edging nervously down the hall and making her way up the steps to the deck. She kept her fingers curled tightly around her sword.

Poking her head out onto the deck, she found herself face to face with two familiar eyes.

Elizabeth screamed loudly, as did the person on deck, and Elizabeth toppled off the steps, landing in the corridor with a loud thud. The other person, who was Gibbs, stuck his head down below deck.

"Are you alright, Ms Swann?" he said, concerned.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine!" said Elizabeth, her cheeks flaming. "What are you doing back already? Jack said…"

"I know what the Captain said" said Gibbs gravely, "But he's gotten himself into a little pickle, and I thought I'd bring him back to the ship. If you could give me a hand…" he said, gesturing to something he had brought on deck with him. Curious, Elizabeth climbed on deck to help Gibbs.

The sight before her nearly made her pass out cold there and then. Her body- _Jack_- was sprawled out on the floor, soaked in rum and vomit. Elizabeth put her hand to her mouth in shock to see the body was spontaneously convulsing, shudders running through it like spasms.

"What happened to me? I mean… what happened to Jack?" Elizabeth cried out, gazing thunderstruck at her battered body.

"I think he's still getting used to the idea of being inside a woman's body" Gibbs said solemnly. "Anyway, I was hoping to leave him quietly here on the ship, but while you're here, do you reckon you could just take care of him? I would do it meself, but I was in the middle of a card game when I heard the commotion outside. Just mind that when he wakes up he'll be a tad grumpy, savvy?"

"Aye" said Elizabeth, still looking slightly sick.

Gibbs turned to go, but then quickly turned back, rummaging through his clothes. "Hang on a minute… I think I have something that will help" he muttered.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

Triumphantly, Gibbs held up his fist. "This, Ms Swann, is a lucky charm. It's a shark's tooth, and it's supposed to be the darn luckiest thing ever next to a four leaf clover. Considering we're in the Caribbean, this is the next best thing". He held out his hand, and Elizabeth took the large, grimy tooth from him.

"Um…thankyou, I guess" she said, scratching her head.

Gibbs looked vaguely uncomfortable. "Well, I'd best be off, just take care of him, savvy?" he said. Elizabeth nodded, and Gibbs slipped off the boat and was soon lost in the crowds of Tortuga.

Elizabeth picked up her body easily, marvelling at Jack's body's strength. She walked cautiously down the steps into the Pearl, and carried Jack to her bedroom, placing him gently on the bed. He automatically curled up, and Elizabeth pulled the covers over him.

Stroking a stray piece of golden brown hair back from his face, Elizabeth looked on the sleeping body of Jack with an almost maternal affection. This was _Jack, _in her body! Yet again, Elizabeth had to convince her brain that this was real. How long would it last for? What if they swapped back tomorrow- would Elizabeth inherit a sick, weakly body?

Suddenly, a thought so powerful overcame Elizabeth that it made her feel like her head was about to explode. _What if he dies? _Would she, Elizabeth, die along with her body, or would she be trapped in Jack's body forever? She stared at Jack, and began to knaw feverishly on her fingernail.

Out of anxiety and agitation more than anything else, Elizabeth took Jack by the shoulders and shook him. "Wake up, dammit!" she said desperately.

Jack's eyes flew open, and he grabbed her wrist with his fingers. His long nails cut into Elizabeth's arm, and she cursed herself for being so vain. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, and Elizabeth realised gravely that she had made a huge mistake.

"Pirates!" he hissed, and his eyes were dancing with a mad fire. Elizabeth was frightened.

"Shhh…it's all ok" she said softly, gently pushing Jack back down onto the bed. This only served to make things worse- Jack's body convulsed and his hand grabbed onto his dagger, his eyes darting frantically all over the room.

"I'm going to kill her when I get my hands on her!" Elizabeth heard her own voice shriek, and she felt on the verge of tears. Jack was going insane, and she couldn't do anything about it…

Or could she?

Desperately, Elizabeth shoved the shark tooth into Jack's free hand. The effect was instantaneous- Jack's eyes glazed over, and he flopped back down onto the bed, his breathing becoming softer and more even. The dagger dropped out of his grasp and clattered to the floor. Elizabeth barely breathed for about five minutes, until she was sure that Jack was asleep. It was only then that she let out a deep sigh, and ran her fingers through her hair.

Was this really the effect rum had on a person's body? Elizabeth wouldn't dare to prize the shark's tooth from Jack's grasp in case it brought on another attack. She made a mental note to thank Gibbs for the tooth, obviously it possessed special powers. Or maybe the fact that it stopped Jack's attack was just a coincidence- Elizabeth really didn't know anymore. A month ago, she would have said that she didn't believe in pirates, ghosts and cursed treasure, but now she was ready to believe anything!

Elizabeth suddenly found she was experiencing a fetish for rum. And for the first time, she didn't even try to fight it.

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After safely depositing the Captain back on the Black Pearl, Gibbs strode off into the Tortuga crowds to continue his card game. As he pushed his way through the crowd, he avoided the hazards of Tortuga- overly made-up, underdressed women, pickpockets, and dangerous drunkards wielding various weapons- with a skill only possessed by someone who had frequented Tortuga themselves one too many times.

Slipping into a shady looking bar, Gibbs only had to give a nod to the barman to be led up some skilfully hidden stairs to a small wooden door with a brass knocker. He knocked once, and then carefully let himself in.

"Mr Gibbs!" came a loud chorus of voices from inside the room. Gibbs had walked into a small room with a single window, overlooking the Tortuga harbour. The room had a wooden floor with a slightly mouldy, ornate rug placed on it, and on top of the rug was a large round table, which four people were seated around, drinking glasses of rum.

"You've taken your time Mr Gibbs!" one man cried jovially. "Ana Maria here was just about to knock me out!"

Ana Maria, who was also sitting around the table, shrugged. "I was getting bored" she said simply.

Gibbs opened his mouth to explain, but another man cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Don't bore us with your long winded explanations… just get back to the game" he said impatiently.

The final man sitting around the table gave Gibbs a toothless smile. This particular man always gave Gibbs the creeps- not only did he have no teeth, but he was also missing a tongue. To put it simply, this man hadn't spoken a single word since he got into a fight with a carving knife.

Gibbs took a seat at the table, helping himself to some rum. Although they didn't look it, Gibbs was currently sitting at a table with Tortuga's elite poker players. He was part of an exclusive underground club- a club where the players were rich, the games were good, and the stakes were high. Entrance to the club was extremely competitive, based on your skill at poker, your leverage, and the ship you sailed with. Being on the Black Pearl, of course, gave you an immediate advantage, but currently, only Gibbs, Ana Maria and Jack had gained entrance to the club. In fact, in Jack's younger days, when he was still trying to get money for a crew and a ship, he was one of the most brilliant players ever to pass through the club's history- he bled even the richest pirates dry. By pretending to be really awful at poker, and letting his opponents get cocky, he would come out at the end with a _coup de grace, _as the French would say. And the stakes, indeed, were high- pirates were known to lose their treasure, crew and even their ships playing in the club. The fact that there was a never ending supply of rum in the centre of the table did nothing to help keep the pirate's common sense intact.

"Hurry up Gibbs, it's your turn" Ana Maria said impatiently, kicking Gibbs in the shins under the table. Gibbs gulped; Ana Maria was the club's first female member in about 50 years, and she was probably the best too. She was one person who wouldn't be afraid to play dirty if the need arose- Gibbs could see the silver glint of the dagger hidden in her clothes.

"So, Mr Gibbs, how're things going aboard the Pearl?" the impatient man said, picking up a card from the pile. His voice held the barest hints of mockery- he must have guessed that the Pearl hadn't been plundering a lot lately. Word sure got around in the pirate world.

"Oh, you know, the usual…" Gibbs said vaguely, trying to avoid Ana Maria's warning glare. He knew that it was imperative that he didn't spill the beans on Jack's little… dilemma. If these men somehow found out, Jack's reputation would be down the drain within the next fortnight.

"And what about the _Bounty Hunter_?" Ana Maria interjected smoothly, referring to that man's own ship. "Last thing I heard, it had been attacked by dolphins out at sea and had nearly sunk!" Everyone around the table laughed appreciatively (of course, except the toothless man, who grinned toothlessly), the story about the _Bounty Hunter_'s run in with the dolphins was pirate legend.

"They were sharks" the man muttered defensively, his ears going bright red.

Ana Maria laughed, picking up another card. She raised her eyebrows, a tiny smirk on her face.

Gibbs looked around the table, and was surprised to see that the three other people on the table were staring at each other, as if they were engaging in some sort of non-verbal conversation. Gibbs began to get slightly worried, and he cleared his throat loudly, picking up the flask of rum and holding it out.

"Anyone want a refill?" he said nervously. The toothless man looked up at him, and his eyes flashed.

It was then that it happened. Mr Bounty Hunter leapt up, pulling a knife out of his shirt. Ana Maria got up almost as quickly- she kicked the knife out of Bounty Hunter's hand, pulling out her own dagger and heading for his throat. The jovial looking man made to grab Ana Maria, but she lashed out with her back leg, kicking him in the stomach. He landed with a thud on the ground, groaning. Ana Maria turned back to Bounty Hunter, who was frantically trying to escape, and kicked him hard in the side. He collapsed on the ground, and Ana Maria bent over him, knife raised.

Yet as suddenly as it all began, it was all over. For the toothless man had pulled out a gun, with the end of it pointed inches away from Gibbs' head.

"You touch him, and Mr Gibbs here dies" the toothless man said in a thick, raspy voice, cocking his pistol. Ana Maria, who was probably in shock that the toothless man who had been pretending to be mute could actually _speak_, dropped her dagger, where it clattered noisily to the floor.

"You can talk?" she asked incredulously. "We all thought you had lost your tongue!"

"I have" the man said, opening his mouth and showing a vast, gaping hole. "It's just that I've found a way to talk without using my tongue"

"Ahh" said Gibbs. "That would explain the…err…" he gulped suddenly, as the cold tip of the gun pressed threateningly into his temple. "I mean…that's really cool!" he finished lamely.

Ana Maria, even in the situation she was in, rolled her eyes, raising her hands in the air. "So what do you want?" she said, sounding almost bored. "We don't have any loot on us, you're not getting to the Pearl, we don't have any valuable information... in fact, we're basically useless".

"Oh, I doubt that, dearie" Mr Bounty Hunter said, sounding a lot more confident now that he had a weapon back in his hand. "You know more than you think. And don't even consider escaping- we'll have members of the club on to you in a minute"

"But I thought the club was a poker club!" Gibbs protested.

The toothless man laughed. "It is" he said, "On the outside. What we are part of is a club _within_ the club. Of course, there are still many members who don't know about the inner circle, who just join the club for the poker. That was purely what the club used to be for many years- but now we want to broaden our horizons". He cackled evilly at this point, as if he had made a hilariously funny joke. "So a few select people, the brightest and best in the existing poker club, decided to form another, more elite club- a club dedicated to one cause. Do you have any idea what that cause is?"

"You want to steal the Pearl" Ana Maria said, stifling a yawn. Gibbs marvelled at her composure in the face of adversity. "But, of course, you can't, somehow. Possibly because you suck".

The toothless man looked a little put out, but nevertheless struggled to regain his authority in the room. "Yes, we want the Pearl. We have tried for many years to steal it- plotting to kill its captain, or to lure its crew off the ship- but to no avail. And we have heard rumours… aye, there are rumours about the Black Pearl".

"Like what?" asked Gibbs curiously. Ana Maria glared daggers at him.

"Well, I know this sounds strange, but ever since Jack Sparrow became captain of the Pearl, no other captain since him has been able to hold the post more than a year. Look at Barbossa" Bounty Hunter said, philosophically.

"That was only one person" Ana Maria pointed out. "And anyway, he doesn't count, he was a freak who was obsessed with apples".

"Be quiet girlie" the toothless man snapped. "Captain Barbossa is a distant relation of mine!"

"I can see the resemblance", Ana Maria quipped dryly.

"Shut up! He can't help it that he got into a fight with palm tree when he was young!" the toothless man screeched, on the verge of hysteria. When he realised that everyone else in the room was staring at him, he glared at them, and continued with his original train of thought.

"Anyway, as I was saying- rumour has it that Captain Sparrow, when he became captain of the Pearl, formed a soul bond with the ship. I don't know exactly what it is, or how he went about it, but as long as he lives, the Pearl will answer to him and him alone. And that is the club's biggest problem."

"But you're never going to get to Jack!" Gibbs shouted loyally.

The toothless man gave another creepy grin. "Aye, but that's where you two come in, savvy?"

And suddenly Gibbs felt a heavy weight crash into his temple, and his whole world went up in flames.

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Ok, phew, that's it! Sorry that bumper chapter took a lot out of me, so don't expect anything from me for a couple of days, I'm exhausted! I really hope you enjoyed it though, please, please review! I'd love to know what this super chapter meant to you guys :)

xox baby swann


	9. Bloody Rum Poisoning

Yay! Another update! Sorry this one took me such a long time, I've been so busy! Between seeing the new Pirates movie (which you should all see), and writing a one-shot about my alternate ending to the abovementioned Pirates movie (which you should all read), I haven't really had time for Peas in a Pod! But, considering I got so many reviews from you wondrous people (special mention to Countess Verona Dracula, who went out and reviewed every single one of my chapters- legend!) I decided to do a little update. You'll probably be able to tell from this chapter that I am integrating sections of Dead Man's Chest into this story, I hope it runs seamlessly enough :) Anyway, let's set sail!

**Chapter 9: Bloody Rum Poisoning**

Elizabeth sat up with a start, as the bright morning sunshine streamed through the porthole above her. She had fallen asleep in the chair beside the bed Jack was lying in, and she felt stiff and sore.

Elizabeth washed her face quickly with some water pooled in the basin beside the bed, feeling the refreshing coolness on her skin. Jack probably hadn't washed himself in a long time, and Elizabeth privately felt that not even a years worth of scrubbing would get some of that deeply ingrained dirt out of the lines in his face.

Elizabeth then bent over to check on Jack, and her body. He was deeply asleep, looking peaceful and untroubled, his chest rising and falling. On closer inspection, Elizabeth discovered pleasantly that her body had held up quite well against… Elizabeth shuddered to think what exactly it was that Jack had gone through, and she didn't really think she wanted to know.

"Oh Mr Sparrow… what have you done?" she murmured, stroking Jack's hand tenderly. His other hand was clenched tightly around the sharks tooth, and Elizabeth wasn't going to go anywhere near that. "I hope we can get out of this ok…" Elizabeth's voice trailed off, as awful, dark thoughts of Jack dying in her body filled her head. Suddenly, as if reading her thoughts, Jack stirred, and Elizabeth snatched her hand away from his.

"'Lizabeth…" Jack's voice was raspy, as if he had just vomited. "'Lizabeth, I need help" he croaked.

"Ok, ok…" Elizabeth said, twisting her hands anxiously. "What's wrong?"

Jack's eyes opened, and he gave a tiny smile. "Bloody rum poisoning", he muttered, clearly realising the irony of his statement. "I can feel it- eating up my insides, savvy?"

Elizabeth winced, the image forming in her mind. "So what do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Find Anita Dalma… she's a witch-woman living in Tortuga, ask around, people are bound to know her… ask her for the rum poisoning antidote. She's the only woman I know who can make it- but you've got to be quick, 'Lizabeth, or else this beautiful body will be lost to Davey Jones locker, savvy?" Suddenly, Jack shut his eyes and winced as another spasm of pain overcame him. Almost instinctively, Elizabeth bit her lip, and could taste blood in her mouth.

"Don't say that, Jack!" Elizabeth almost cried. "I'll find her for you, it'll all be alright, don't worry!" But then she stopped, as a sudden thought struck her. "How will I be able to pay for it?"

Jack gave a short, barking laugh. "Love, you're Captain Jack Sparrow, remember? You can do anything!"

Elizabeth gasped as the full realisation hit her. "But Jack…"

Jack shut his eyes, an almost contented smile playing over his face. "Remember the training, love. I'm sure you'll do fine."

And with that, sleep overcame him, and Elizabeth's body drooped back down on the bed, her matted golden hair splaying out on the pillow.

Elizabeth sat back in her chair, kneading her forehead in her hands. It was stupid, really- she knew that sooner or later she would have had to go out and _be_ Captain Jack Sparrow… she just didn't think it would be so soon.

_Anita Dalma. _

That wouldn't be so hard, would it?

Elizabeth got up, tossed her hair, and looked across at the mirror hanging on the wall opposite her. Grabbing the flask of rum off the table next to her, she flashed her most Jack Sparrow-like smile, and said softly, "Jack Sparrow _is_ ready for Tortuga".

_Anita Dalma. _

And with that, Elizabeth Swann disembarked from the Black Pearl.

Whatever she had been expecting when she got off the Pearl, it was beyond Elizabeth's wildest dreams what the Tortugan general population's response would be to the first sighting of Captain Jack Sparrow.

"I thought you were dead!" said one pirate as Elizabeth swaggered past, just missing a nasty collision between three pirates who had stopped what they were doing just to stare at her.

"How was Australia? I heard you tamed a pack of kangaroos and taught them martial arts!" another pirate said, and a few eyes moved suspiciously over the Pearl. Elizabeth waved her hand in what she hoped was a mysterious yet dismissive gesture, something that Jack would most certainly do.

"Well I heard that Captain Sparrow started up a religion which is now being followed by over a million people in south-east Mongolia!" someone else speculated loudly.

This particular rumour was so shocking that Elizabeth half turned around- however, before she got the chance to say anything, something whooshed past her left ear and plummeted into the ground behind her. It was a dagger.

Elizabeth spun around, and saw that four men, obviously blind drunk, but still wielding swords, were staggering towards her.

"Jack Sparrow…" one said, waving his sword menacingly, before collapsing in a heap on the ground in front of Elizabeth.

"You owe us…" another one rasped, before he, too, fell straight to the ground.

"You can't escape us now…" the third one begun, but before he could continue, he tripped over his fellow comrades and promptly hit the ground.

The fourth man didn't even get the chance to say anything- noticing that his three friends had hit the dust, his eyes rolled up into his head and he keeled over sideways, landing with a thud on the ground.

"Ok…" Elizabeth muttered, eyes gazing around shiftily, "That was weird…"

Then she remembered what she was here for. Taking a deep swig of rum, she walked over to the nearest person, drew herself up to Jack Sparrow's full height (which actually wasn't that much) and began to speak.

"You look like a respectable and law abiding citizen of Tortuga", Elizabeth began. "What be your name?"

The citizen said in an odd, monotonous voice, "My name is Bread".

Elizabeth squinted, peering into the citizen's face. "Bread?" she asked incredulously. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

The citizen didn't reply, so Elizabeth prodded their chest. They still didn't move, so Elizabeth turned around, searching for wisdom from the crowd. Someone mouthed, "unisexual". Elizabeth grimaced.

"Citizen…err, Bread. Can you please tell me how to get to the abode of Anita Dalma?" Elizabeth said, trying to regain her composure.

Bread's impassive face twitched violently. Elizabeth stepped backwards, eyes squinting suspiciously. "So? Citizen?" she said, suspecting the worst.

"She lives over behind the bar… yeah", Bread said lamely. Elizabeth sighed with relief.

"Thankyou very much, citizen Bread", Elizabeth said, swaggering away from him whilst taking another deep swig of rum. "You have done a very noble deed, and…" Elizabeth struggled to find another Jack-like phrase, "You will be dutifully rewarded by Captain Jack Sparrow for your efforts, savvy?" she finished lamely. Then she quickly broke into a run, before anyone could comment on Jack Sparrow's out of character behaviour.

Elizabeth stumbled into the next street, feeling vaguely sick from all the rum she had been drinking. "Bloody Jack Sparrow and his bloody rum!" she swore vehemently, but the image of her body lying bedraggled back on the Pearl was enough to sober her. Shaking her head quickly, Elizabeth blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness of the alleyway she had just found herself in.

"Behind the bar…" she mused aloud. Well she had just passed the bar, and this was the side alley that ran alongside it. So if Bread was correct (of course, Elizabeth, being a well brought up young woman, couldn't mistake Bread's lack of sexuality for a lack of intelligence), Anita Dalma's hut should be right…

"Here", Elizabeth said, looking around her expectantly. She was slightly confused- directly in front of her was a brick wall, and on either side of her were the walls of the two buildings next door. It appeared to Elizabeth that she was at a dead end.

"Damn you unisexual shemale!" Elizabeth said angrily, flinging her bottle of rum on the ground in a rage. How was she supposed to save Jack now? Utterly disgruntled, Elizabeth sank to her knees on the ground.

Suddenly, the ground in front of her exploded upwards, and Elizabeth yelped as something hard whacked her right on the nose. "What the…?"

For out of the ground, a small, wooden trapdoor had just been opened, propped up by a slender, brown, female hand.

"Well well… if it isn't de famous Jack Sparrow, back here at last", a voice murmured from below the trapdoor.

It was then that Elizabeth got her first ever look at the famous witch-woman, Anita Dalma.

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Anita Dalma… does that name sound familiar? Hmm, you'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next chapter! In the meantime, please review! All comments welcome.

baby swann


	10. Anita Dalma

**Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean ain't mine, savvy?**

You know what, hang it all, lets churn out two chapters in two days…wow, I've made it finally to double digits- 10 chapters! Yay! Thankyou all so much for all these reviews, this story has actually generated a following, it's quite exciting :) What interested me especially in the reviews were people saying "It's not Anita Dalma, it's Tia…" Well, you'll see in this chapter that the mistake was intentional, and that I was not making an awful spelling mistake! Thanks again to all the readers and reviewers, I hope that you're enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it!

Much love and kisses,

baby swann

**Chapter 10: Anita Dalma**

She had used to be a beauty- Elizabeth was sure of that. Beautiful dark almond shaped eyes stared out of a wickedly crafty face with a blatant intelligence, and red lips retained the voluptuous fullness of youth. Her hair was wild and thick, barely contained by a red headscarf not unlike Jack Sparrow's own. She appraised Elizabeth with an amused air, her lips curving up in the shadows of a smile.

"Anita Dalma", Elizabeth said slowly, enunciating every syllable carefully. Taking off her three cornered pirate's hat, Elizabeth bowed deeply.

"Jack Sparrow", Anita said in a beautifully accented, lilting voice, "Spare me de theatrics, please. What is it you want?"

"I'd like you ask a favour from you," Elizabeth began, but as soon as she said that, she knew she had said the wrong thing. Anita's eyes hardened.

"Jack Sparrow… de nerve of you! You think that after all you have done to my sister, you can come back 'ere and expect favours from me? I'm sorry Jack, but my loyalty lies with Tia, not with you! I have a good mind to shut dis trapdoor right on your 'uge oversized head!" Anita blazed.

Elizabeth was staggered- Jack definitely hadn't taught her how to deal with issues like this! Clearly Jack had broken Anita's sister's heart, and Anita was not going to forget him in a hurry. _Remember the training…_

"Anita, love," Elizabeth began, walking forwards slowly, "Please, just hear me out… let me explain what I need, love, and then once I am done, I shall give you free reign to err… shut the trapdoor on my head, savvy?"

After a minute, Anita tossed her hair, and flung the trapdoor completely open. "Follow me, Captain Sparrow" she said grudgingly.

Elizabeth permitted a small smile at her triumph, before slinking down into Anita's underground lair. Once she was inside, however, even she couldn't stop the look of incredulous amazement that was spreading across her face. Anita Dalma looked across at Elizabeth, and smirked.

Anita's house was small and cosy- candles were stuffed into coconut shells and strung up from the ceiling like tiny chandeliers. There seemed to be two rooms: one was the main room, which was almost completely filled by a large wooden table covered in all sorts of things- Elizabeth could make out three slugs, various fruits and vegetables and glass containers in varying sizes filled with brightly coloured liquids- and in the corner of the room, what looked like a beautiful ornate chair sat half hidden by a dirty black cloak. The other room was partially cut off by a curtain of vines that hung down from the ceiling- behind it, a large carved wooden bed with a red velvet bedspread sat covered in dirty white cushions. The walls and ceiling of Anita Dalma's house were made out of dirt, and Elizabeth squirmed as she realised that tiny worms were burrowing their way in and out of the walls. The entire house looked like a bizarre combination of finery and extreme poverty, but Elizabeth couldn't help warming to it.

Anita Dalma noticed Elizabeth's staring. "You broke my sister's heart in dat bed over there", she said coldly. Elizabeth whirled around.

"Now how would you know that, love?" Elizabeth said carefully.

"Tia told me", Anita said shortly. "We keep nothing from each other. Anyway, please enlighten me on de nature of your request. I don't have all day, you know?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could borrow some rum poisoning antidote", Elizabeth said. To her surprise, Anita Dalma laughed.

"Jack Sparrow? Suffering from rum poisoning? Are you joking me?" Anita laughed. "Anyway, you don't look like you are suffering much!"

Elizabeth smiled, sitting down on the chair. _Confidence is everything. _"It's not for now… see, love, I'm about to go on a journey. A long one. And, between you and me, this body ain't all it used to be, savvy?" Elizabeth used the exact words Jack had spoken to her only a few days previously, accompanied by an infuriating wink. Anita Dalma, however, looked far from impressed.

"Tia seemed to think it was fantastic", Anita snapped. Elizabeth groaned inwardly, she was getting sick of all these jibes about something that she didn't know anything about.

"Please", Elizabeth appealed, arm slightly raised, using every ounce of Jack Sparrow's charm and charisma on this once-beautiful woman. For a minute, it looked like it was working- Anita's face softened, and she looked up and beyond Elizabeth wistfully. Elizabeth crossed her fingers. _Please…please…_

Suddenly, Anita's eyes focused on Elizabeth, and she grabbed her arm tightly. Sharp fingernails dug into Elizabeth's skin, and she fought the urge to cry out. "Tell me, Captain Sparrow, why did that compass point away from my sister? The very token of her love and devotion that she gave to you, the magical compass that shows whoever uses it their hearts desire, it betrayed her! Tell me why, in dat very bed, when you opened dat compass, it pointed away from Tia? Tell me why she was no longer your hearts desire? Tell me why you cheated on her! You broke her heart… and ran away with her compass! Despicable!" Anita spat, Elizabeth could see she was shaking; she must have been waiting to say this for years. Unfortunately, she was telling it to the wrong person. Elizabeth knew she couldn't keep this act up any longer. She knew too much.

"Anita… Anita, you might find this difficult to believe… but it's true. I am not who you think I am. I am not Captain Jack Sparrow. My name is Elizabeth Swann, and I have swapped bodies with Jack. I'm sorry I deceived you, I didn't mean for it to go this far, it's just… Jack's sick, and he needs the rum poisoning antidote, and he told me to come to you…"

Clearly, Anita Dalma had not been expecting this. She let out her breath in a slow hiss. "So, de bottle has finally been opened", she said softly, half talking to herself. "I always told him that he was living on the edge of a precipice, keeping his soul in a bottle like that… even if it is a tiny portion of his soul- and this was the consequence? Well, I had expected some sort of side effect, but nothing like this…" Anita looked up at Elizabeth, as if seeing her for the first time. "So, Ms Swann, you see that de famous Captain Sparrow has had his fair share of women over de years. Dangerous woman he gets involved with- Tia was nothing compared to some others- but the story of the sea Captain and de beautiful sea Witch is legend. Of course, nobody knows that de Captain from de story is our own Captain Sparrow… but de story…"

Elizabeth was silent, listening intently to Anita's speech.

"Ms Sparrow, once there was a handsome, brave, noble young man, by the name of Jack Sparrow. Even I cannot pretend to know the secrets of Jack's childhood, that man is shrouded in mystery… but one day he came into Tortuga with a mind to get a ship and a crew and find a buried treasure. He was entranced, like many, by the romance of piracy. But Jack was different- he was willing to go to de ends of the world to achieve his goal. He joined de elite Torgugan poker club, and he was brilliant, beating many older pirates out of their ships and crews. Anyway, Captain Sparrow got himself a ship and a crew, and he went out to find his treasure. Unfortunately, he was still too inexperienced- his ship ran aground on an unchartered island, and Jack was de only survivor. He wondered around for days on de island, until he found someone else."

"The witch", Elizabeth whispered.

Anita Dalma nodded. "Witches travel around in clans, you see. This particular witch had been exiled from her clan- nobody knows why- and she was weak. She had been on de island for a long time, and her soul was dying. So imagine her excitement when another young, vivacious soul appeared on de island- and Jack wasn't any normal soul. So, of course, the witch set out to steal Jack's soul. As she was dying, none of her powers were strong enough to force Jack's soul from him- but she did have one asset, and that was her incredible beauty. They say witches are de most beautiful creatures alive, and dis one was no exception. Jack was seduced, and before long, he had gotten close enough to de witch for her to be able to siphon off his soul. So one night, while Jack was sleeping, de witch performed her last piece of magic to gain Jack's soul. She would siphon Jack's soul into a bottle, and drink it, therefore effectively killing Jack."

Elizabeth gasped, as Anita Dalma continued telling the story in her beautiful, lilting voice.

"But dis is de most interesting part, Ms Swann- she couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to steal Jack's soul. For in all her work seducing Jack, she had let herself grow attached to him, to care for him, even to love him. So she couldn't do it. So halfway through siphoning off Jack's soul, she broke off de magic, and Jack woke up. He realised what was happening, so he grabbed de bottle which was half filled with his soul, and ran away. Luckily, a ship from de East India Trading Company was travelling past de island, and picked Jack up. But to dis day, he has never been able to get the bit of the soul to go back into his body."

"Why didn't he just drink it?" Elizabeth asked.

Anita Dalma shook her head. "He was afraid that it would escape if he opened the bottle, and then his soul would be lost forever. So he kept de bottle with him wherever he went, and he travelled the world, hoping to find someone who could put his soul back in his body. But the experience left Jack Sparrow a changed man- when he came back to Tortuga, he had a funny way of walking, and a funny way of talking, and although none of his rugged handsomeness had left him, his personality had changed. He was no longer noble and honest- he became a scoundrel, dishonest and crafty. Dis was probably because most of his 'good side' as you could call it, was trapped in de bottle. But every now and again, you can flashes of it showing through…" Anita Dalma trailed off, eyes misting over.

"And the witch?"

Anita Dalma looked surprised. "Oh, she's probably still waiting on the island- I guess. Nobody knows. But Captain Jack Sparrow den went on to become de most feared pirate in de Caribbean, and, well… you know de rest."

"So that's what we've got to do. We've got to go find the witch", Elizabeth murmured to herself. It was clearly the only way for them to get their bodies back. She looked up at Anita, feeling the need to speak. "I'm sorry about your sister… really I am. I just didn't know that side of Jack", she said awkwardly.

To her surprise, Anita Dalma smiled. "It was a very long time ago, Ms Swann. Seven years, actually. Tia has forgiven Jack already… she was always the nicer out of the two of us. I have a tendency to hold on to de past…" Abruptly Anita got up, and walked around behind the large wooden table. Picking up one of the glass beakers, she poured the bright yellow liquid inside it into a bottle and put a cork in the lid. "Here is de rum poisoning antidote, Ms Swann. No payment required- it is my gift". She pressed the bottle into Elizabeth's hand, and looked up into her eyes.

"Jack is really a good man", Anita said.

Elizabeth smiled. "I know" she said softly. "I really am sorry for deceiving you… you know, pretending to be Jack and all…" she said again, feeling vaguely guilty.

"I think I knew dat you weren't Jack already", Anita said slowly. "You had a different look in your eyes… much more feminine", she finished, and Elizabeth blushed. "I wish you good luck on your journey, Elizabeth Swann", she said.

"Thankyou very much", Elizabeth said honestly, inclining her head towards the beautiful witch-woman.

And with that, she climbed out of the trapdoor and into the cold Tortugan night.

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A/N: You know what, I think that was one of my favourite chapters to write in this story- I hope you all enjoyed it!


	11. The Parrot and the Pirates

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. Sorry. **

Hi everyone, I am so sorry that it has taken ages for me to write this- school's back, and I have loads of work to do! I've tried making my chapters a little longer for your reading enjoyment though, I hope that helps! Also, I think I am getting to about a third to halfway through my story, so any suggestions, comments or constructive criticism would be welcome in the form of reviews! Come on, press that purple button, you know you want to…

baby swann

**Chapter 11: The Parrot and the Pirates **

Elizabeth sprinted quickly and quietly through Tortuga, noticing the empty streets- most people were either inside the pubs drinking, or passed out cold on the ground. She was especially thankful for this as it meant that she would not be drawing any unwanted attention to herself. Elizabeth wondered fleetingly for a moment how Jack must have felt when he was wondering around Tortuga in her body earlier- being just another person, not having every second person recognising you and/or wanting to kill you. It must have been such a liberating and free feeling for someone who was notorious all throughout the Caribbean. However, Elizabeth thought ruefully, Jack probably _enjoyed _all the attention, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it was Jack's attention-seeking tendencies that had made a need of this rum antidote in the first place.

Elizabeth climbed aboard the Black Pearl, sliding down into the galley and softly making her way towards the room Jack was sleeping in. "I hope he's alright", Elizabeth prayed softly, gripping Anita Dalma's bottle tightly in her hand.

It was clear when Elizabeth entered the room that Jack had vomited again- she fought back her own urge to vomit when she saw the mess on the ground. Jack was tossing and turning on the bed, his bed sheets all tangled and twisted. As Elizabeth approached him, she saw that he was drenched in sweat, and his clothes were soaked.

Elizabeth had never seen her body in a state like this before, and it shocked and sickened her. Checking Jack's left hand, she saw it was still tightly clenched around the shark's tooth, and Elizabeth let out a small sigh of relief. Perhaps she was becoming superstitious after all.

"Jack?" she whispered softly, squeezing Jack's free hand gently. "Jack, I got the antidote!" she said slightly louder.

Jack rolled over in bed. "Hmmm…what?" he murmured. His eyes slowly opened. "Love?" he rasped, and Elizabeth smiled. "Oh well done love… I knew you could do it", he said, trying to sit up. As he did though, he clutched his head, and dropped, moaning, back on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.

Jack tried to smile, and for an instant there was a trace of his old cockiness in his voice. "I'm experiencing that strange phenomenon that you lesser beings like to call a hangover, savvy? Awful thing… you know, love, I've never ever fallen sick before this? Being sick for me is a new and rather unpleasant experience".

Elizabeth opened the cork on Anita Dalma's bottle, and pressed it gently into Jack's hand. "Don't worry Captain, you'll be back on your feet in no time and then we'll be able to go off and find that witch!" she said confidently, and then suddenly stopped as she tried to remember whether she was supposed to know about the witch or not.

Jack, however, seemed not to notice her slip of tongue, as he was busy draining the potion. When he had finished it, he tipped the bottle upside down and peered into it, trying to get the last few drops into his mouth. "Wonderful woman, that Anita Dalma", he said absently. "She's made the potion rum flavoured! Although I don't know if there'll be any rum for me anymore after this nasty experience", he said, dropping the bottle on the ground and flopping back into bed.

"Aww don't say that!" Elizabeth said playfully, picking up the glass bottle and placing it carefully on the table beside the bed. "You're Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Jack shut his eyes, and the shadow of a smile flitted across his face. "Aye", he said contentedly, "I just needed to hear it from you". And then he was in the land of the sleeping, leaving a confused Elizabeth in his wake.

-----------------

Gibbs woke with a groan, noticing the incredible throbbing in his head. "Ana?" he said thickly- it was pitch dark, and his last memories before he was knocked out were of playing poker with Ana Maria.

"Aye", came the reply, and there was a clatter and a bump, and suddenly there was a flickering light illuminating Ana Maria's worried face.

"I feel like my brain's trying to push its way out of my head", Gibbs complained. "What happened?"

"We were tricked and ambushed, savvy?" Ana Maria said grumpily. "I should have known- never trust a man when you can't see where his tongue is".

"Aye, or his teeth", Gibbs agreed, remembering the man with a shudder. He looked around, but could see nothing but darkness beyond the tiny circle of light from Ana Maria's candle. "So where are we?"

"I don't really know" Ana Maria admitted ruefully. "I think we're on a ship- can you feel us rocking? Maybe we're locked in the brig or something. I've been trying to find ways to get out for the last half hour, and I know there's a door over there, but it's bolted. There's a few empty crates scattered around, and in one of them I found a few candles and a box of matches."

"Do you reckon the toothless man is their leader?" Gibbs said, not even listening to what Ana Maria was saying.

"No, I don't think so. He's being ordered around by someone bigger than him- the leader of "The Club", remember?" Ana Maria said. "I think they are using us as bait to get to Jack… and there, we have a problem".

"Why, won't he come?" Gibbs said nervously.

Ana Maria sighed. "No, he _will_ come. And that's the problem".

"Ahh", said Gibbs understandingly, and they fell into an uneasy silence.

--------------

Elizabeth had fallen asleep on the ground beside Jack's bed, covering herself in a ragged blanket. She was exhausted from the events of the past few days, and was overcome with a weary relief that Jack was going to be getting better.

However, she was rudely awoken the next morning by something attacking at her hair and bandana. "What?" she moaned, trying to swipe it away from her face. Yet it refused to go, and finally, Elizabeth was forced to sit up and open her eyes. What she saw amazed her.

"Jack!" she barked, as she grabbed Mr Cotton's parrot, which was what had been attacking her face, and holding it tightly.

Jack basically exploded out of bed, and Elizabeth was pleased to note that he looked incredibly better. "What's wrong, love? I feel wonderful today…"

"Jack, look, its Mr Cotton's parrot! It came onto the Black Pearl all by itself!" Elizabeth said, shaking the parrot in front of Jack's face for effect.

Jack peered at the parrot, his eyes narrow. "Why is there a rag taped around its beak? And what's that attached to its leg?" he said slowly.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed that!" Elizabeth said, shifting her grip so she could see the tiny rolled up piece of parchment that was attached to the parrot's leg. She tried to undo the knot on the piece of string that held it there, but her fingers were too thick. "I can't undo the knot!" she cried, frustrated.

"Let me help, love", Jack said, and using Elizabeth's long, thin fingers, he plucked open the knot and the piece of parchment fell out.

Jack picked up the parchment carefully, while Elizabeth held the struggling parrot. "What does it say?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.

Jack didn't reply for a long time, and Elizabeth feared for the worst. "Jack, talk to me!" she said.

Jack shook his head. "I don't understand it… it doesn't make any sense", he said slowly. Elizabeth snatched the parchment off him, trying to have a look for herself. She sighed.

"Jack, it's upside down" she said flatly.

Jack took the parchment back quickly, his eyes clearing. "Oh, right", he said, slightly embarrassed, and proceeded to read.

"This message was intended for Captain Jack Sparrow. Captain, two of your crew members, Mr Gibbs and Ms Ana Maria, are being held for ransom. If you ever want to see your friends alive again, follow these instructions carefully".

"Jack!" Elizabeth hissed, her hand unconsciously tightening around the parrot. Jack continued reading.

"You have been given compass bearings enclosed with this letter. You are to sail in that direction on the Black Pearl with your crew, until you reach the nearest port. You are to disembark from the Pearl alone, leaving your crew behind, and from there you will receive further instructions. Be warned, failure to comply with these instructions will result in the death of your friends without hesitation. We are always watching."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped open. "Captain, we've got to get the crew and save them! We can't leave Gibbs and Ana Maria to die! Look, wait here and I'll ring the bell…"

"You will do no such thing, Ms Swann", Jack said, his words razor sharp. Elizabeth froze. Jack's voice softened. "'Lizabeth, love, I've received ransom notes before. Half of them aren't even serious, and I don't want to walk into a trap, savvy? You also realise that if we do take this journey, I'll be putting you in even more unnecessary danger!"

"Why?" asked Elizabeth stupidly, and the she stopped, realising she already knew.

"Because you're me, savvy?" Jack said, sounding exasperated. Elizabeth bowed her head. "Listen, first things first, we need to find out if Gibbs and Ana Maria have actually been taken. There's no point us getting all worried when they're just out there drinking themselves stupid. I'll have to go out and search for them", Jack said, standing up and pacing the cabin. "Or you… but no, you're too conspicuous, might get a death threat or two on your way…"

Suddenly, Elizabeth's head snapped up. "Jack", she said, her voice sounding worried, "If this is Mr Cotton's parrot… then where's Mr Cotton?"

Jack stopped pacing, and both pairs of eyes looking at the brightly coloured parrot squirming in Elizabeth's grasp. Tentatively, Elizabeth took the rag away from the parrot's beak, fearing for the worst. She was correct.

"Squark squark, Mr Cotton dead! Squark squark, Mr Cotton dead!" the parrot repeated over and over again, drilling the message into Jack and Elizabeth's heads. It was only when Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore that she thrust the rag in the parrot's mouth, and her eyes turned to Jack.

"It seems you were right after all, Ms Swann", Jack said solemnly, and in her entire life, Elizabeth had never felt so wrong about being right before.


End file.
